Is an alarm system worth it?

Is an alarm system worth it? You may be wondering that question as you ponder signing up with an alarm system company. After all, there are the installation fees, the early termination fees, and the contract fees. What would a contract add up to over time and is the service valuable. You must first ask this important question. What is it your are trying to protect. If you are like most people, you will have a few valuables such as a television, a computer, stereo, and other electronics. If you add up all of those things, they are probably pretty expensive.

However, for some people who are just renting an apartment, you do have to ask yourself if all of your valuables are worth more than what you are paying in an annual fee to your alarm system company. If you take the price of a contract from a company such as ADT, it’s about $35 per month. Over a three year contract, you are going to pay over $1,000 dollars. How much is the deductible on your insurance policy? Most people only have a $1,000 deductible or less. How many times have you been robbed? I’ve only ever been broken into once and the thieves didn’t take anything. Why you ask? Because my alarm system was going off and the cops were right there within less than a few minutes. I could have forgone the alarm system and just used my insurance policy to pay for losses, but that seems to be taking a back seat to crime. Others of you may think that just taking the loss is okay. If you don’t have a lot of stuff, then it might not be worth it.

However, let me add one more factor and that is your family. Is your family worth an alarm system? Is their safety worth the extra $35 dollars you would pay every month. Most people would say yes and I do too. A security system is not an absolute protection but it is a good preventive measure. I definitely say that it is worth it.

Who would you pick then for your alarm system company? There are plenty to choose from. Talk with your friends or your neighbors to see who they use. You can try to get a system that you monitor yourself as well if you are comfortable with that. Self-monitored alarm systems though may not give you a lot of peace of mind because you are responsible for dispatching the police. What if the burglars are at your house and you are at your house? That is not a good combination. You may not be able to get to the phone to notify the police. In that event, it would be better to have the system monitored by someone else.

If you are away from your home and an alarm goes off, and you are the one monitoring it, then you have to get that notification. Do you always have your phone with you? Are you sometimes away on vacation and away from your phone? How would you be able to dispatch the police fast enough. It doesn’t take someone long to rob your house. There used to be a show on TV where an ex-criminal would go to houses and test them to see how fast he could rob them in. It was shocking how little time it took. In 10 minutes he could be in and out with lots of valuables. Consider that it takes you a few minutes to notify police and then it takes police a few minutes to get there. You may never get it done in time. That’s why I see some value in having your home security system monitored by someone else.